Riderock
Geography Owing to the fast flowing rivers and great depth which the region sinks underground Riderock is quite open and cavernous, especially for a dwarf, and the great roads carved through by Rokuers and rivers turn the region into a fast paced tangle of constant motion with Riders zipping along quickly upon their Rokuers and winds carried along by rivers from the sea outside the region howling down through the caverns and tunnels. The meeting point of most of the rivers is a lake known as Nexus. It is here where the majority of non-Riders make their homes as the freshwater provides enough for sustaining oneself as well as for providing tribute to any Rider Klatch that comes calling. The deepest point of the region lies in the region’s south-west, where a great waterfall pours down at least 400 feet into the deeper black. The waterfall and the chasm are collectively called Drop Off and generally avoided by civilized folks and even the Riders tend to shy away. Most of the region is crisscrossed with various paths carved out by Rokuers and their Riders, but one stands above the rest. Old Road is the innocuous name given to the massive path seemingly carved out by a Rouker the size of 20 of the largest Roukers recorded to exist in this day and age and this major path is used often by Riders to move throughout the territory for purposes of raiding and war and the Old Road has seen more battles than any other path in the region. People The population of Riderock is quite divided despite all being Dwarven in birth and heritage. On one side are the “Settled” those Dwarves who live alongside Nexus and work to sustain themselves and make a living by the sweat of their own brow. The Mularuhm note these Settled seem to follow similar Caste and Clan systems to that of Mularuhm and Asterith. Converse to the Settled are the Riders of the Confederacy, the so-called leaders of the region. The Riders are in essence gang-clans, known in the region as Klatches, whose prowess riding the Rouker beasts native to the land allow them to exert dominance as raiders and extortionists over their Settled brethren. The Confederacy is a loosely defined and often broken peace treaty brokered between the various Klatches and the Settled over 300 years ago. In it Nexus is defined as sovereign territory for the Settled that no Klatch can claim but any Klatch is allowed to take tribute from Nexus as payment for assurance to keep the other Klatches following the bargain and remaining out. It also states no Klatch shall raise blades against another without authority from the Klatch Confederacy Elders, and while skirmishes still break out between the Klatches all out wars have been cut in half and with them the destruction wrought and thus most Riders and Settled both support the Confederacy despite its shortcomings. Resources Shaped like great dire hounds as one would find upon the surface, the Rokuer shares little else in similarity with the common creatures of the world. For one, the Rokuer do not appear to be composed of flesh and blood as any normal animal might be, being composed of stone itself and seeming to subsist off of mineral consumption, not the nutrients of plants or other animals. Further the Rokuer’s heads are stunted, having no area for eyes or a nose, possessing only a mouth filled with hard and jagged ridges for grinding rocks for ingestion. It is believed the Rokuer sense their location and surroundings through tremor-sense and that the consumption of minerals is directly related to the size to which they grow. While used as mounts by the Riders, specific techniques have never been adopted for their relevant usage in a more advanced capacity. Grown by the Settled, the Cave Fungus of Riderock is a highly valued and efficient food crop, packing many needed vitamins and minerals into its fibrous form making it an excellent source of food for the Settled and serving as tribute for the Riders. The Dwarves of The Riderock greatly desire some form of fuel to keep fires lit in the howling caves and stave off the cold. Religion The Riders revere a singular spirit known as Zandel, a historic Rider and/or his Rokuer depending on the tales said to have ridden through the solid rock of Riderock in ancient days and carved the tunnels. The Settled tend to view Zandel as a more demonic being but more advanced philosophies or religions are absent in the region. Category:Regions Category:Underground Regions Category:Regions in the Salterri Imperium Category:Regions of Telluris Category:Underground Regions of Telluris